325-335Traditional
fermented foods and beverages are very popular in the tribal and rural areas of
Himachal Pradesh. A number of fermented foods and beverages were identified and
the traditional fermentation processes were studied. Some of the popular
fermented foods and beverages were analysed for their microbiological
characteristics. The fermented products that are unique to the tribal and rural
belts of Himachal are Bhaturu, Siddu, Chilra, Manna, Marchu, Bagpinni,
Seera, Dosha, Sepubari, Sura, Chhang, Lugri, Daru, Angoori and Behmi. Besides source of nutrition,
these fermented foods e.g. Bhaturu,
constitute staple food in larger part of rural areas of Kullu, Kangra, Mandi
and Lahaul & Spiti districts of the state while others are consumed during
local festivals, marriages and special occasions. Traditional starter cultures
like ‘Phab’ (dehydrated yeast
formulations), ‘Treh’ (previously
fermented wheat flour slurry) and ‘Malera’
(previously fermented wheat flour dough) are the inocula used in preparing
fermented products. Microbiological studies revealed that species of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a dominant
microorganism in fermentation along with species of Candida, Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus. The ethanol content of
some of the fermented beverages was also analysed